Cheating Hearts
by kladams50
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem.
1. Chapter 1

**CHEATING HEARTS**

By KellyA

"Why Mr. Larabee finds it necessary to wake a man at such an ungodly hour eludes me," Ezra grumbled to the tall cowboy walking next to him.

Buck smiled at his inconvenienced friend. "Ez, it's seven o'clock."

"Exactly my point, Mr. Wilmington, much too early for a gentleman..."

Buck shook his head. "Yeah, 'specially when that gentleman didn't leave the tables till three hours ago." Buck chuckled at the withering glare directed his way. He would never understand the gambler. Ezra was more content spending his mornings in bed and nights at the poker tables. Buck enjoyed this time of day. He felt unhurried and at peace, basking in the quiet of a new day. Although, there were times when Buck preferred to spend his nights and days in bed, preferably in the company of the opposite sex. "Well, Chris wants you watchin' the jail while I go on patrol. Unless you'd rather take patrol?" Buck hinted arching a hopeful eyebrow.

"The jail might not be my feathered bed, but at least it's warm." Ezra pulled the collar of his jacket up against a cool, morning breeze. Autumn was still trying to hold out, but winter was giving it a fight.

Ezra tilted his face up towards the warm sun. A brilliant blue coated the sky and light gauzy clouds ghosted through the vastness a brilliant backdrop for the distant mountains. Since coming to Four Corners, Ezra had found himself increasingly enjoying the more simplistic aspects of life. He would never admit to the others how much he coveted their company or the new path his life had taken. His mother couldn't understand his sudden life-change and, for that matter, neither could he. The others still expected him to be self-serving and money-grubbing, but he hoped they also knew he would give his life for anyone of them. Ezra glanced out the corner of his eye amused at Buck's smug demeanor at his mock discontent.

"I'm sure the prisoners will 'ppreciate you rescuing' them," Buck exclaimed as they neared the jail.

"Has Mr. Dunne been regaling them with his less than amusing witticisms?"

"If you mean borin' them to tears, yeah. He got a new dime novel the other day."

Ezra groaned, remembering when he had been forced to listen to the uneducated drivel of one of JD's dime-store novels. Chris considered it punishment for being late to duty last week.

"Isn't that considered cruel and unusual punishment?"

"Nah, Josiah calls it penance. I betcha them boys will think twice 'bout trying to steal anything again," Buck laughed and clapped his southern friend on the back.

Ezra grinned and looked ahead to see JD step outside the jailhouse. The youth smiled at the two approaching gunslingers, as he adjusted his gun belt. He was ready for a good breakfast and some sleep.

With the light-hearted conversation and promise of a beautiful day, stomping hooves and the rattle of bit and reins had been ignored. A husky voice full of hostility ended Buck and Ezra's banter.

"You cheatin', slithering, low-down, good fer nothin' snake." The angry and slurred words were mixed with the snorts of his agitated horse. "Turn and face me!"

Ezra and Buck halted on the boardwalk and turned to face the person behind the enraged tirade. The two regulators gawked at the irate gentleman who was fighting to stay in the saddle. Buck and Ezra shared a smirk at the unkempt man whose face was red from anger and too much drink.

"Damn, ain't it a bit early Mister?" Buck quipped, his smile fading and settling into lines of annoyance. It was too early for this shit it was going to get crowded in the jail today.

Ezra's brow furrowed, recognizing the agitated man as an earlier poker opponent, but unable to capture a name. "Sir, is something amiss?"

"I'd say somethin's amiss," the gentleman spat. "You think you can ruin my life and git away with it?" The inebriated rider's horse whirled and pranced under the erratic commands he was receiving, growing more agitated. "Someone shoulda done something about you a long time ago."

Ezra glanced over at Buck noticing similar confusion; neither man was prepared for the events that suddenly spun out-of-control around them. The enraged rider fumbled for his gun as his perturbed horse continued to whirl and struggle. As the horse came around a gun shot reverberated, freezing a moment out of the chaotic spectacle.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

****Part 2

Ezra's eyes widened when he heard the flat, ugly impact of a bullet, for a pair of heartbeats the world stopped revolving, nothing seemed to move, locked in that perplexing moment. Wilmington stared down at the bloom of crimson on the front of his shirt. He looked over at Ezra and wanted to laugh at the gambler's strange startled expression, but his chest tightened and he discovered that he couldn't draw a complete breath. "Aww hell," Buck croaked out his smile twisting into a frown as his legs turned to jelly.

Ezra grabbed his crumpling friend as his knees folded toward the ground and lowered him gently to the boardwalk. The intoxicated rider squeezed his eyes shut, his gun waving erratically as he tried to rein in his frantic horse. Ezra's attention and angered filled eyes abruptly reverted to the still present liquored up threat, and maintaining pressure on Buck's wound pulled his colt and fired. The horseman remained in his saddle for a moment, seeming to contemplate what had just happened, before bonelessly toppling onto the street, his horse, relieved of its drunken burden racing off

"Buck! Buck!" JD cried out, racing towards his friend, having watched in disbelief at the outwardly exasperating event turned to gunplay.

Ezra pulled out a handkerchief and resumed pressure on the erupting wound in his friend's chest. He didn't hear JD's frantic cries over his own pounding heart and the blood rushing to his head.

"You stay with me, Buck," Ezra commanded, his voice uncharacteristically cracking as the world seemed to suddenly reanimate around him.

"Buck, aw shit, Buck," JD gasped falling to his knees beside his friend.

Ezra continued to maintain the life-saving pressure and looked over his shoulder to see Nathan racing across the street toward them. "Just hold on, Buck. Nathan's on his way."

"Buck, can you hear me?" Nathan called as he quickly assessed the damage, looking over his shoulder as he felt the thunder of boots racing down the boardwalk. Ezra moved aside as the ex-preacher quickly slipped in and took up the task of applying pressure to Buck's wound as Nathan peeled back one of Buck's eyelids.

Ezra slowly glanced up, not surprised to see Chris standing over them. The gunslinger had an uncanny ability of suddenly appearing from nowhere. Chris always seemed to be where he was most needed, an aura of strength and courage encompassing him and everyone around him.

Chris was sure his heart stopped if only for a couple beats. He stared down at his oldest and dearest friend, unmoving, under Nathan's frantic hands. The pangs of loss trying to once again engulf him. "Nathan?"

Nathan's head snapped up and he looked at Chris. "The bullet's still in him."

Ezra's mind was racing as his eyes shifted between the others, trying to understand what had just happened. It had been a beautiful day; when had the dark clouds moved in? He had been happy, enjoying the company of a friend. Now, he was watching that friend fight for his life. Ezra's head was muddled with Nathan's urgent commands, JD's constant reassurances and the murmurings of the surrounding townsfolk.

"Let's git him up to the clinic," Nathan ordered.

Josiah slid his arms under Buck's shoulders as Vin grabbed his legs. They slowly eased the unconscious gunslinger up off the boardwalk. Nathan followed as they carefully carried the injured ladies' man across the street.

JD made to follow until Chris' hand grabbed his arm halting his progress. JD's eyes remained on Buck's limp body being carried up the stairs of the clinic, hoping this wouldn't be the last view of his friend. Slowly, worried-filled eyes came around to look up at Chris' hardened features.

"What the hell happened?" Chris growled, shifting his deadly gaze between JD and Ezra. "Well?"

JD frowned and looked over at Ezra. The cardsharp stood to the side, a bewildered expression on his face. Everything had happened so fast. "Mr. Lunder was yelling," JD slowly explained, trying to piece together exactly what he had witnessed. He recognized Bryon Lunder as a small-time rancher who came to town once a month, usually getting drunk, but never violent.

"Yelling what?" Chris squeezed JD's arm, urging him to continue. He was anxious to get to Buck's side too, but not before he found out what had happened.

JD bowed his head and fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. "Lunder was angry and he was yelling something…" JD paused and lifted a wary gaze toward the gambler, his watery eyes darkening. "…Something about a cheating, low-down snake that ruined his life."

Chris' glare darkened, and his eyes swung around to fix on the gambler. "You know anything 'bout this?

Ezra stood silent and took a deep breath his hand rubbing at his chest. 'Lunder, so that was his name, wonder why I couldn't recall it,' Ezra thought. He was as stunned as anyone by the rancher's outburst. He glowered back at the blond gunslinger suddenly feeling threatened. Whenever the word 'Cheat' and or 'snake' was stated all eyes immediately turned to him, it was getting a little aggravating.

"Ezra was playing cards with Mr. Lunder last night," JD hesitantly added. "And he wasn't none too happy when he left the table," JD recalled. He had run into Bryon Lunder during his rounds as the man stormed out of the saloon, shoving the young sheriff to the side and staggering into the night. JD shifted his gaze down at the boardwalk, as anger swelled up inside, it was a rare feeling for the naïve lawman. Was Ezra responsible?

"Is that true?" Chris growled.

Ezra was jolted out of his shock by the question.

"Yes, I did partake in a game of chance with the recently deceased," Ezra replied, trying to regain his smooth manner and choke back the emotion welling up inside. They blamed him.

JD's anxiety was like ants on a carcass undulating through Larabee's hand. Chris released the young man's arm. "Go."

The young sheriff took one last speculative look at the gambler. Did he really know the urbane southerner? He turned and raced across the street toward the clinic.

Chris took a deep breath and again brought his cobalt eyes to bear on the conman. Ezra wondered if anyone else ever received that deadly glare, or if it was just reserved for him.

Ezra's brow furrowed, the only outward sign that he was in any way disturbed by Larabee's expression. He thought he was starting to fit in with the six other regulators. The expression on Larabee's face only strengthen the belief that he would never be a part of this town. "Mr. Lunder and I did share in a cordial game last night, but he was distracted and drinking heavily. He lost a considerable sum of money, but nothing that I would deem life-ruining."

"Did he think you cheated him?" Chris asked through gritted teeth. He had been growing to trust the enigmatic conman and even to like him, but as he looked at Ezra's seemingly unperturbed expression and remembered that the man had betrayed his trust on two occasions Chris was finding it hard to hold onto any amount of respect for the southerner.

Ezra's attitude was not out of any sense of disregard, but a safety valve, a way to distance himself from any emotional harm. He had Maude to thank. As a boy, every time his mother left, he would harden himself a little more, until the pain faded. In time, it became automatic and something he was no longer aware of.

"If Mr. Lunder believed me to be dishonest, he did not voice any objection," Ezra smugly replied, a little too smugly.

Ezra's chin became the recipient of Larabee's fist, slamming him against the wall of the building. Ezra maintained his feet, one hand grasping a window ledge the other holding his jaw.

"If Buck dies because of your damn cards..." Chris snarled, his voice pulsing with rage. Ezra's hand dropped hovering near his revolver for a moment then relaxed. He didn't know if Chris had noticed or chose to ignore the impulse. The blond gunslinger turned away and followed the same path as JD towards the clinic.

Ezra pushed himself away from the wall and wiped the blood from his mouth. Damn, he thought he was starting to have a home here.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

****Part 3

Chris stopped short, inches from the clinic door. His hand hovering over the doorknob. He couldn't open it. He couldn't open a door to a life without Buck his last connection to his past the only thread to his deceased wife and son.

The door abrupty opened and Vin stood in front of the stoic gunslinger his hand immediately clamping down on the gunslinger's shoulder.

"He's still alive, Chris," Vin quickly assured, stepping aside to allow the distressed gunslinger passage. He flanked his friend, hoping his presence calmed Chris' growing worry. JD had explained what had happened and Vin knew that judgments had already been made. He hoped that Ezra wasn't responsible or that there was more to the story.

The healer straightened from his position over Buck and drew the blanket up to his chest. JD sat on the other side of the bed, his hand resting on Buck's arm. He looked like a little boy, so lost and innocent. Buck protected that innocence as he taught the young easterner to survive on the wild frontier. If Buck died, what would happen to that innocence?

"The bullet's deep," Nathan explained. "I gave him something to knock him out than I'm going to need you all to hold him as I go for that bullet."

"What are his chances?" Chris asked stepping up to Buck's bedside. His normally animated and gregarious friend looked unnatural. Buck was always filled with life, to see that life so still was unnatural and stripped away much of Larabee's confidence. The steadfast gunslinger looked disoriented. Vin knew that since the death of Chris' family Buck had become sort of the gunslinger's moral anchor, keeping Chris from self-destruction.

Nathan wiped a hand down his face. "I've got to get the bullet out soon or risk infection. It's going to depend on how much damage was done. I don't think it hit anything vital or he'd be dead already."

Nathan paused and glanced at the door as it opened and watched as Ezra stepped inside. The southerner stood quietly against the wall, not missing the disgust in the healer's gaze. He also didn't miss the disappointment in Vin and Josiah's melancholy faces. But nothing compared to the deeply despondent expression on JD's young visage. The young sheriff glanced up at him, and Ezra felt the uncertainty, the condemnation and worse the distrust. He knew he wasn't welcomed.

Ezra forced his gaze down to Buck and something squeezed his heart and seemed to carve out a hole in his gut. The two lawmen had a growing friendship, at least what Ezra perceived as friendship. Ezra never had many friends in his life; friendship was not advantageous to a conman. He didn't see any friends in the room at the moment. Ezra bowed his head and stepped back out the door. He pressed his back up against the outside wall. It was overwhelming, the feelings of animosity he felt. He'd never been affected by what people thought. Why were these men so different? Maybe his mother was right; he shouldn't have allowed himself to become so involved- Never set down roots, emotionally or physically, it was a recipe for disaster.

Buck's cries had Ezra reaching for the door, but halted. He was not wanted, and he didn't want to detract from Wilmington's care. He didn't want the others distracted by their annoyance towards him. Ezra resumed his seat placing his face into his still blood-smeared hands.

M7M7M7M7

"Hold him down," Nathan yelled as he dug even deeper into his friend's body trying to locate the elusive piece of metal that could kill the ladies' man.

Chris and the others renewed their grips as Buck tried to arch his back and pull away from the invading pain. "Easy Buck, calm down," Chris tried to soothe laying his hand on his long-time friend's forehead and forcing it back down. "Nathan's almost done." Even with the landanum the pain was intense.

M7M7M7M7

Ezra raised his head opening bleary, cat-green eyes as Chris, Vin, and JD joined him outside the clinic. He glanced at the regulator clock on the wall surprised at how little time had passed. Chris slapped the door frame trying to expel his growing anxiety. Nathan had forced them out of the clinic assuring them that nothing vital had been hit, but he had to work to prevent any possible infection. Chris' anger and frustration were coursing through his body like a couple of agitated rattlesnakes. He couldn't lose Buck. Buck had saved him on numerous occasions. Buck was a connection to his past and a safeguard for his future.

JD stared at the wooden door that hid the battle for life. He had discovered a brother within the ladies' man. What would life be like without him? It felt as if they'd known each other all their lives, even though it had only been a few months. He didn't want to believe that Ezra might be responsible. If it were true, he wasn't sure he could ever forgive the southerner. Ezra's card-playing might finally have brought an end to the seven.

Chris audibly inhaled, held it, and then slowly exhaled.

"I better get out on patrol," Vin tiredly exclaimed, feeling the animosity swirling among them but not knowing what to do about it.

"No." Chris' voice halted the tracker. "Ezra git your ass out there." It was the least the self-seeking gambler could do.

Ezra thought about challenging the order. Instead, he nodded, turned and walked away without saying a word. He needed to put some distance between himself and the others both physically and emotionally.

"Think you're being a little tough on 'im," Vin quietly said.

"Buck's lying in there, maybe dying because Ezra feels the need to play with people's money and livelihood," Chris stated. "You can't take everything a man has without suffering something for it."

"He doesn't cheat," Vin defended.

"I know that…" Chris breathed out, releasing some of his penned-up fury as he allowed himself to fall against the wall. "…but others don't." Chris' blue eyes locked onto Vin's, "How many times have we had to stop a brawl or someone from shooting him because of his cards? They're nothing but trouble."

"So are your guns," Vin defended, "and my bounty."

Chris ran his hand over his guns, knowing that the intuitive tracker was right, but he didn't use his guns to start trouble, just end it, and Vin couldn't control someone trying to collect the bounty on his head. Ezra had control over his chosen profession. "It ain't the same; I don't play with people's money or give them false hope that they're going to get rich, and you can't control someone coming after you for money. Ezra has a choice."

"Do you really believe that?" Vin asked not expecting an answer. Cards were as much a part of Ezra's life as the food he ate and the clothes he wore. Vin didn't think the gambler could live without them. His whole life revolved around them they were his security.

M7M7M7

Ezra slammed the door to his room and threw his hat onto the bed. It didn't make sense. Yes, he and Lunder had played cards. Lunder had appeared preoccupied and agitated when he sat down at the table. Lunder's anger grew proportionately to the amount of alcohol he was ingesting, but Ezra didn't think that Lunder's anger was due to any perceived underhanded tactics from himself. The man's attention seemed to be elsewhere. He would mumble curses every time he lost a hand but didn't really seem to be paying attention. It was even past Ezra's bedtime when Lunder abruptly left the table, staggering out into the pre-dawn glow.

Ezra stopped his pacing in front of his mirror. Was he responsible? In Lunder's drunken state could he have believed that he had been cheated? Damn, if Buck died... Ezra's fist lashed out and slammed into the mirror shattering the looking glass and slicing his knuckles, his blood mixing with Buck's dried blood still on his hands. He fell back onto his bed ignoring the pain and blood. If Buck died, his life here would be over, hell if Buck died; Chris would see that his life was over. Ezra slowly got up from the bed. He moved to get his hat and caught his image in the broken mirror. His life was now as devastated as the mirror and about as useful. He grabbed his hat and left his room to perform his final duty.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Ezra remained on patrol throughout the rest of the day and into the evening. The setting sun hailing the return of the exhausted and fearful gambler. He figured if Buck had died, Larabee would have hunted him down already.

Ezra had left to smiles and nods of acknowledgments and returned to angry glares and disgusted sneers, at least from people who even bothered to look at him. Funny, how people's opinions can change at the drop of a hat, or in this case, the drop of a lawman. He knew many of the townsfolk only tolerated him and would love to see him fall.

Ezra made his way slowly up to his room to get cleaned up. He then planned to look in on Buck, whether the others approved or not. He'd already decided that his time here was done. As soon as he knew of Buck's condition, he would leave.

M7M7M7M7

Ezra ascended the stairs to Nathan's clinic, his steps slowing as his mind reeled, scenarios playing through his head like a thundering herd of wild stallions, all racing towards an unknown end. He halted on the last step and stared at the door. A door that led to healing also held his future. Ezra blinked and quietly entered, feeling like an intruder as he stepped inside. The others were all there, barely glancing up as he stepped off to the side.

Chris and JD sat at the head of the bed as JD mopped his friend's brow. Chris' face was sullen, tight-lipped and Ezra knew the blond gunslinger's thoughts were returning to the loss of his family years ago. What would happen to Chris if he lost Buck? Ezra's heart ached when he looked upon JD's visage. The young gunslinger reminded him of a small boy waiting by a parent's sickbed. JD needed Buck.

Nathan walked over and laid a hand on Buck's brow then took up his wrist. Chris looked up at the healer.

"His fever broke and his pulse is strong," Nathan exclaimed the hint of a smile on his tired face. "He should be fine with rest."

There was an audible sigh within the room as Nathan fell into a chair. The bullet had been in a tricky place, but it had also found an easy path missing anything vital. JD's face lit up and life flowed through the young man like a desert coming alive after a rain. Chris closed his eyes and bowed his head for a moment. Ezra wondered if the gunslinger still prayed.

Ezra cleared his throat, getting the lawmen's attention. "I am much relieved to hear about our Mr. Wilmington's pending recovery."

"Yeah, no thanks to you!" Nathan tiredly spat, raising his head but not his exhausted body.

"Brother?" Josiah warned, knowing his long-time friend rarely held his tongue when it came to their inauspicious gambler. Ezra's heritage, along with his greed, seemed to rub the healer all sorts of wrong ways.

"No, Josiah, it's gotta be said," Nathan angrily exclaimed. "This is all because of his damnable cards. Can't you see the trouble your game playin' causes?"

Ezra clenched his fists as his lips pressed into a straight line. He regarded each of the gunslingers.

"Why don't you just give up them cards? We'd all be better off," Nathan continued.

A small smile tickled the edge of his mouth. "I could no more give up my cards than you could give up your dilettante medical skills, or Mr. Larabee his morose demeanor," Ezra replied.

Nathan snorted at the southerner's long-winded excuse and turned his attention back to his patient.

Ezra glanced around the room, squaring his shoulders against the fatigue he felt. He was drained, both physically and emotionally. There was only one recourse. "I shall be gone come tomorrow." The words almost caught in his throat, and he was surprised at the sudden ache that struck him.

"Ez, you don't have to leave," Vin softly said, his gaze casting a plea for his friend not to leave. Ezra smiled faintly.

"It weren't your fault, son," Josiah added, trying to convince himself.

Nathan snorted his skepticism.

JD's eyes narrowed in contempt, and he looked sternly at the man he once respected. Ezra had been the first to welcome him. Now all he saw was a gambler responsible for almost killing his best friend. "Yes, it was his fault!" JD angrily blurted out. "Lunder was gunnin' for him. He doesn't care about how his card-playing can hurt others. He doesn't care about anyone but himself."

Josiah laid a hand on JD's shoulder silencing the young man, but it was too late, the words struck like daggers, the damage was done. Ezra showed no visible wound, but his gut clenched and his heart began to harden. How could JD believe that he only cared for himself?

Vin bowed his head in regret. He knew that JD's words had hurt the gambler more than any bullet could have. He hoped that the young sheriff didn't end up regretting his rash outburst.

"Give up the cards and stay," Chris ground out, his eyes remaining locked on his recovering friend. He didn't want to lose one of his men, not even Standish. The gambler had proven himself many times over and they all worked well together. Buck was going to be alright, maybe they could get past this? Chris glanced over at JD-Maybe.

Ezra smiled faintly, at Larabee's ultimatum. His smile dropped at JD's refusal to look at him. Nathan's face didn't hide his opinion of the self-serving gambler. Josiah's expression reminded him of his mother's own disappointed glares. As usual, Ezra couldn't read the cogitative tracker. He guessed that Vin had yet to make up his mind, but knew that the tracker was inexplicably tied to Larabee.

"As I told Mr. Jackson that is not possible." Ezra turned, grabbed the doorknob and stopped. "It's been a pleasure and an honor serving with you gentlemen, give Buck my sincerest apology." With that, the enigmatic conman quickly departed.

"Chris, it ain't right, him leaving," Vin exclaimed. Chris reluctantly shifted his gaze up towards the tracker.

"It weren't right for Buck to almost die, because of his damn cards either." Chris turned his attention back to his oldest friend.

Vin's shoulders slumped. He could go after Ezra, but only Chris or JD could keep the man from leaving. He hoped one of them wised up before it was too late.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**** Part 5

Buck heard the voices as they broke into his consciousness along with the pain that radiated from his chest. He heard himself groan which ended the jumble of other voices he heard in his head.

Chris' head snapped up at the small grunt that passed Buck's lips. He leaned forward in his chair. His mouth twitched when he saw the grimace on Buck's face causing his mustached to shift.

"C'mon, you old dog," Chris urged.

JD jumped to his side at the same time as Nathan.

"Chriiis…" Buck breathed through dry lips. He felt a hand snake behind his head and ease it off the pillow. The cool water that touched his lips sent shock waves of relief throughout his body.

"Easy, Buck, drink it slow," Nathan instructed as he carefully controlled the water.

Buck was lowered back down, and he slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the grim features of his friends staring down at him.

"Damn, boys, I ain't dead," Buck croaked out.

"God, Buck, it sure is good to see you awake," JD said, his smile threatening to break his face in two.

"Thanks, kid. What happened?"

"You were shot," Chris explained.

"Here, Buck, you need to drink this." The healer forced a cup of water and herbs down Buck's throat.

"Enough, Nate," Buck sputtered. "Who shot me?"

"Mr..." JD began.

"Don't worry on it now," Chris broke in. "Ezra took care of him."

Buck's head sank deeper into the pillow. "Ah, good. Where are the others?"

"Josiah's prayin' for your miserable soul," Chris laughed. "Vin's out and about, and Ez's..." Chris paused a moment. "Ez's probably down at the tables," he lied.

Buck's eyes were beginning to close and he hadn't caught the hesitation in his friend's voice.

"Good. Glad everything's alright," Buck quietly said as his eyelids grew heavy.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Chris numbly replied staring over at JD. "You rest."

M7M7M7M7

Ezra woke early, not wanting to run into anyone as he left. It was hard enough to leave without the last image of the town being the expressions of anger and disappointment on the faces of the townspeople and men he had considered friends. Buck was going to recover and that brought relief to his tattered soul. The respite was short-lived at the realization that he would be leaving the one and only place he'd ever considered home.

Chaucer snorted his displeasure at being saddled at such an hour. "Sorry, old friend. It's time to move on." Chaucer stared back at his owner as if askin' why. "We don't belong," Ezra answered to his horse's perceived expression. Ezra looked out the stable doors noticing life commencing in the small dusty town. "Towns like these aren't meant for people like me. Anyway, we can do better in a more lucrative municipality. We're getting too soft here." Chaucer blew noisily through brown nostrils and flicked a tufted ear, not believing a word he said. Ezra rested his head on his steed's neck and exhaled. "Damn, what good am I as a conman? I can't even convince my horse."

Vin stood out on the balcony, outside the clinic, and watched as the flamboyant gambler rode out of town. He saw that Ezra only carried his saddlebags and one carpetbag. Vin wondered if he would send for the rest of his belongings. Maybe after Buck recovered, the others would be more willing to forgive and Vin could track down the conman and bring him home. The others always believed that Ezra would leave eventually, move on to

greener pastures, but as the weeks turned to months, Vin wasn't so sure. They had been together for almost three months. After the first thirty days, the gambler could have left anytime. Vin sensed the connection, a bond that made them stonger and held them together. He knew Josiah felt it and believed that Chris did too, although the gunslinger was loath to admit it. Did that connection included the gambler?

M7M7M7m7

Ezra rode quietly, letting his horse pick its way along the rutted road. He thought back on Chris' ultimatum to give up cards. He was raised to play cards, it was all he had ever known. It started as a way to gain praise from his mother and became a way of life. He could no more stop playing than stop breathing - could he? He was responsible for Buck being injured. Maybe it was time for a change. Ezra pulled up his horse and stared off into the distance. The unknown lay ahead, open and waiting. He had seen it numerous times, and at times looked forward to it. He looked back the way he had come, toward a town he had come to love. Could he give up the only life he knew for another? Being a lawman was not something he ever aspired too, but for the past three months, he had upheld the law and protected the citizens. Ezra smiled. He had pretended to be many people in the pursuit of monetary gain, was his peacekeeping another con? And if so, to what gain? He thought he had become a competent lawman.

Ezra never felt the bullet that creased his head and threw him from his horse.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**** Part 6

Nathan allowed Buck to wake later that day as his fever had diminished and the wound remained clean and free of infection. No one wanted to tell the wounded gunslinger that Ezra was partly to blame for his injury.

"Ay, I get the complete welcoming committee this time," Buck whispered hoarsely as he sluggishly turned his head. He frowned when he didn't see Ezra. As he looked at the faces of the other lawmen, an unsettling feeling caused him to raise his hand to his chest, the thought that Ezra could be dead flitted through Buck's cloudy brain.

"What'cha remember?" Nathan asked laying a hand on the prone man's forehead.

The lines on Buck's brow deepened as he absently replied, "I was shot." He stared over at Chris, who stood at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. He was finding it hard to ask the next question. "What happened?"

Buck saw all eyes shift to the blond gunslinger as Chris answered, "We think you were shot by someone gunning for Ezra."

This was not the answer Buck had expected and his eyes narrowed in puzzlement. It did explain why the southerner was not present, but something didn't feel right. Buck was about to question the assumption when the door flew open. Vin and Chris went for their guns, halting when a pretty brunette rushed in.

"Oh, Buck, I just heard. I'm so sorry," the woman cried out, staring with wide whiskey-brown eyes at the injured cowboy.

The surrounding lawmen stood with mouths agape as the whirlwind brunette crossed the room. JD abruptly stood and the woman quickly took up his vacated chair laying a hand on Buck's arm and a hand to her breast.

"Claire darlin', wh..what'cha doing here?" Buck stuttered, trying to push himself up, surprised at the woman's entrance.

"I only just found out and I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. Why just look at you." Claire's hands caressed the bewildered gunslinger's face.

"What are you talking about?" Buck asked, taking the woman's hands in his to stop her fondling.

"I didn't think Bryon would do something like this. I mean, when he found out about us, he just went crazy. I couldn't stop him or warn you."

"Bryon Lunder?" Nathan asked as something went cold inside him.

"Yes." Claire turned to the healer. "He was my husband or my soon to be ex-husband."

The whole room seem to inhale as everyone took a collective breath and gut's clenched.

"Buck, Bryon Lunder is the man who shot you," JD hesitantly explained as he tried to understand what was being said.

Buck swallowed the sudden lump in his throat as his face flushed. "Claire, darlin'." Buck tried to push himself up again and winced. "I thought you was parted from your husband." Buck had become enamored with Claire a couple weeks ago only pursuing further when she assured him that her husband was no longer in the picture.

The woman blushed and cast her eyes around the room, suddenly realizing that she had an audience. "Well, Bucky, I was plannin' on telling Bryon that we were over. I just hadn't gotten 'round to it. He has such a frightful temper." Claire had been planning to just disappear one night, maybe going to California, until the handsome gunslinger took a sudden interest in her. She then decided to try and divorce Bryon so she could stay in Four Corners.

"Buck, what the hell is going on?" Chris growled from the foot of the bed. He was getting a bad feeling about this.

"Ah, well, Chris," Buck stammered and squeezed Claire's hand. "Me and Claire here...well, you know."

"Mrs. Lunder, maybe you could explain what our friend here is trying to say," Josiah said as an unpleasant sensation rippled through his soul.

Claire looked at the five lawmen then back down at Buck. "Go ahead, darlin," Buck quietly urged as he closed his eyes.

"Well, Bryon's brother, Asa, saw Buck and me together a few nights ago. Bryon went into a rage. I thought he would kill me. I tried to deny it, but he said he suspected all along. He locked me in the cellar." Claire wiped at the tear that fell from her eye and pushed back a loose strand of hair. "I pleaded with him, but he wouldn't listen just kept calling me a jezebel and swearing to kill Buck. I heard him leave and I was so scared, Bucky, I just knew he was going after you."

"He came to town…lookin' for Buck?" Chris tentatively asked, afraid of the answer as he pinched the bridge of his nose trying to hold back the growing headache.

"Yes, I prayed that you all would be able to protect my Bucky," Claire said. "And my prayers were answered." Claire smiled down at Buck and squeezed his hands.

"That's why he was angry when playin' cards with Ezra," Vin quietly surmised glaring at the others.

Buck's eyes narrowed at the condemnation in the tracker's voice. Damn, where was Ezra?

"So, your husband was gunnin' for Buck all along," JD repeated, looking worriedly at Chris.

Claire nodded. "Yes, and I'm so sorry. I never meant for anyone to get hurt. My husband got what he deserved. He was a beast and I'm glad he's dead."

Chagrin flickered across Buck's face as he looked at Chris' flat, hard expression. He then noticed the discomfort that had taken hold of the five other lawmen. JD appeared ready to pass out, and he hadn't known that Nathan could actually pale. "God, Chris, I'm sorry, but I'm going to be alright, so everything's okay." Buck eased back into his pillow a faint smile on his face as he squeezed Claire's hand. His smile fell as the solemn expressions remained on his friends' faces. There was something they weren't telling him.

"Chris, everything's alright, ain't it?" Buck stared sternly at his friend. "Where's Ez?"

"He left," JD softly answered, staring at the rough wood floors the words he attacked Ezra with suddenly taking charge over his thoughts, refusing to be silent, condemning him.

"What? What do you mean he left? Why would he leave?"

Nathan bowed his head a moment, guilt weighing heavy on his broad shoulders. He hadn't known the conman long and it was hard to trust the urbane southerner and even harder not to think the worst.

Buck's breath quicken at his friends' perplexing behavior. He struggled to rise, the pain in his chest as well as Nathan's dark palm halting any significant attempt.

"We thought Lunder was gunning for Ezra and shot you by mistake," Nathan regretfully replied, pulling the coverlet up Buck's chest.

"We forced him to leave," Josiah added. Lord, he would be repenting and getting drunk for weeks over this.

"We blamed him," Chris added. "We thought his card-playing had finally led to someone being hurt. We weren't sure you were going to live."

"Yeah, I was so angry I couldn't..." JD said, bowing his head and letting the sentence hang as he recalled the things he had said to the gambler.

"Aww hell." Buck rose up in the bed. "We need to find him."

Ezra hadn't deserved this they had all jumped to conclusions based on the cardsharp's life. Ezra had changed since joining with them, they all had. The conman's self-serving attitude made it hard to see the real man inside. Buck had begun to see Ezra for who he truly was, a man just as loyal and deserving of their friendship.

Claire glanced over at the darkly clad leader and immediately shifted her gaze to Josiah. "It's a good thing that Mr. Standish is gone."

"And why is that, sister?" Josiah asked.

"Because Asa is out looking for the man who killed his brother," Claire simply explained.

"Aw hell," Vin murmured.

"CHRIS, YOU FIND HIM!" Buck yelled as Larabee turned and raced out of the room with Vin and Josiah quick on his heels.

JD remained rooted to the floor beside the bed, thinking about the last things he had said to the cardsharp. His close friendship with Buck had clouded his thinking. He might have ruined any chance of a friendship with the southerner due to his narrow-minded foolishness. He stared at Buck realizing that some of his admiration for his mentor had diminished.

Buck looked up at JD and winced at a face that had lost some of its veneration, maybe this was for the best. "I'm sorry, JD. Never thought my fondness for the ladies would cause so much trouble."

"Ezra probably never thought his fondness for cards would either," JD dryly replied. He was angry with Buck for his womanizing but more angry at himself for jumping to conclusions about Ezra. JD roughly put on his hat and left.

Nathan turned his back and busied himself with several vials of medicine on the dresser. He wondered if he would get the chance to apologize to the complicated southerner.

"Did I do something wrong, Bucky?" Claire whispered not understanding the sudden shift in mood and fast exits.

"No, darlin, it's just that we all might have lost a good friend because of something I did."

Claire's face softened with sympathy, not really understanding, but knowing that somehow she was involved. She squeezed Buck's arm and frowned at the distant expression on the handsome man's weary face.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

****Part 7

He first felt the warmth of the rough stone under the flesh of his cheek, then the vice that was slowly squeezing his whole head, the pain all encompassing. Ezra twisted his narrow wrists feeling the ropes that bound them behind his back. He tried to focus his mind and recall what had transpired to put him into such an uncomfortable and painful position. He next wondered who was humming, the tune was aggravatingly cheerful and only compounded the throbbing pain in his head. He forced open his eyes only to squeeze them shut against the bright sunlight that sent a spear of agony through his head his stomach-churning its displeasure. He stilled, hearing the scuffle of rock and sand as his cheerful visitor shifted his position. Ezra opened his eyes slowly and tried to bring the blurry images into focus. He shifted, eliciting an unexpected groan- the humming stopped.

"Ay, 'bout time you came to," a gruff and nauseatingly chipper voice exclaimed.

Startled, Ezra twisted his head toward the voice. Slowly, a sizable paunchy man solidified in front of him. He was sitting on the ground a few feet away and carving on a slat of wood.

"What'cha given name?"

Ezra's brow furrowed.

The large man leaned forward and smiled. "You with me son? What'cha given name?"

"Ez..." Ezra cleared his dry throat. "Ezra." His head hurt and the question baffled him enough to just answer without thinking of the reason.

The man returned to the piece of wood. "Is that E.Z.R.A?" he spelled out.

Ezra slowly nodded.

"Good name. I already know your surname, at least, I hope it's your real name. I know how you gamblers sometimes use different names," the stranger chuckled. "What year were you born?"

Ezra's brow scrunched and the date just came out. "1845." This was probably the first time he had ever told someone his actual date of birth, but the situation was just too bizarre and his brain was too muddled to even think of lying.

The strange man grunted and again applied knife to wood.

Ezra turned his head around as far as he could to take in his surroundings. He lay beside a dark hole on a summit. He didn't think he was too far from town as he heard the soft rush of the nearby river. "Who...?" Ezra tried to swallow the dryness in his mouth. "Who are you?"

"One thing at a time," the large man answered. He blew at the wood and held it at arm's length to admire his handiwork before turning it around. What'cha think?" The large man chuckled, something Ezra wished he would cease doing. It was very unnerving.

Ezra's eyes widened and his breath caught somewhere between his lungs and throat as the jagged words came into focus and read: Ezra Standish b: 1845 died 17 Oct 1876. Ezra's face twisted in cold fear-That was today's date.

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Vin and Chris rode into Cedar Ridge, the closest town to Four Corners, hoping that the citified gambler wouldn't want to spend the night out on the desert. No one had seen any sign of the fancy gambling man. Chris had remained silent throughout the ride, mentally berating himself for his part in the whole mishap. Why had he thought the worse of the suave cardsharp? He always needed someone to blame and Ezra was an easy target and the gambler accepted it, the man never stood up for himself, maybe he thought it would just be a waste of time. They had all assumed that the conman's profession had been the cause of Buck's misfortune. Chris looked up into the clear blue sky, a cutting breeze informing him that winter was on its way in the high country. He had always warned Buck that one day his hound-dog ways would get him in trouble. Damn, why hadn't he'd seen it? Why did he automatically blame Ezra? Chris was surprised how desperately he wanted the opportunity to apologize and then to deck the exasperating gambler to convince him he was not always to blame.

"Where next, cowboy?" Vin asked, breaking into Chris' thoughts.

"Let's head back home, see if anyone's heard anything."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

******Part 8

Ezra tried to coalesce his muddled thoughts. What the hell was going on? He took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Why?"

The large man set the marker down and looked at the cardsharp like he was the town idiot. "You killed my brother."

Ezra's forehead wrinkled as he tried to recall his part in any recent deaths.

The big man glared at the gambler's confusion as he leaned forward resting meaty hands on his knees. "I'm Asa Lunder, Bryon Lunder's older brother."

Ezra closed his eyes for a moment. Death and money always brought family out of the woodwork. Ezra took a deep breath and tried to shift his body to relieve the cramp in his arm. "Please accept my deepest apologies for the untimely demise of your brother."

"Yeah, well…" Asa stammered trying to understand the erudite southerner. "…you know I can't let something like that go unpunished, blood is blood."

"Your brother shot Mr. Wilmington," Ezra explained. "He didn't give me much of a choice."

"Well, it weren't like that scoundrel didn't deserve it." Asa struggled to stand.

Ezra bit his lip as the image of a bovine rolling in the dust came to mind. He didn't think laughing out loud would benefit his current situation. Ezra's head was clearing but things still didn't make any sense.

"I mean, a man shouldn't mess with another man's wife, should he?" Asa continued, brushing off his pants and hands.

"Your brother was aiming for Mr. Wilmington?"

"Hell yeah, I caught that low-down skunk with Bryon's wife a few nights ago. Now my brother weren't no saint and I didn't always like the way he treated Claire, but a man's wife is a sacred thing."

Ezra rolled onto his back and would have laughed had his position been less dire. Well, that explained a lot. "So, what is to become of me?"

Asa seemed to consider this. "Do you have any brothers?"

Ezra smiled. If he had asked him a few days ago he might have said yes. He had come to consider the six other gunslingers as close as brothers as he'd ever known. "No," Ezra sadly admitted.

Asa's face saddened for a moment. "Sorry, 'bout that. I know you was just protectin' your friend, but family is family. I promise you I'll do it quick. I'm real good with a knife." Asa held the knife he'd been using and ran his thumb lightly down the blunted edge. "I'm afraid the ground is too hard here to dig a decent grave, but I don't think anyone will disturb you down in that old abandoned mine shaft."

The whole scene was surreal and Ezra took a deep breath to keep panic from washing over him. He was a gambler, his life was a game, a shuffle of the deck, a cut of the cards. Right now, he wasn't holding a good hand and he wished someone re-dealt or folded. Ezra thought of the six stalwart men he had inadvertently fallen in with. They were teaching him that there was more to life than the game.

Asa started walking toward the bound conman. He licked his lips in anticipation, he had lied about making it fast. He wanted to kill the gambler, to feel the man's life seep out. He would slowly ease the knife into the gambler's pliable skin, watch as the blood welled up around the knife and ooze out. He would hold the dying man as he fought to live, and he would watch as the blood flowed out onto the ground. He would elate as he felt the gambler's strength fade. If he were lucky, the gambler would plead for his life. Now, that would really get his blood boiling. He loved to kill and rarely needed a reason. He didn't even really care that his brother was dead. They hadn't been that close. It was too bad Ezra wasn't a woman. He remembered a whore at some mining town he visited several years ago. He had slit her throat as they had sex, it had been the most exhilarating feeling he'd ever experienced.

Ezra's eyes shifted back and forth, trying to think of an escape...there was only one. The dark void that was to be his grave was also his only avenue of escape. He hoped it wasn't too deep. As the avenging brother advanced, Ezra tensed sensing Asa's depravity; the man's lust for death blazed in his dark eyes. This made it easier, Ezra took a breath, closed his eyes and allowed his body to roll over the edge.

Ezra's thigh caught the sharpened edge of a rock. His scream cut off with his sudden stop at the bottom.

Asa leaned over the hole, disappointment showing on his face, the conman had taken all his fun. "Damn you to hell, gambling man," Asa hissed. "I hope you're still alive." Lunder scooped up a handful of dirt and allowed it to trickle into the hole. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust..."

Ezra felt the dirt hit trickle down his face, but didn't have the strength to move. Blood oozed out beneath his leg, but his leg was as numb as the rest of his body.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Ezra listened to the pounding from above; the rhythmic beat took his mind off the growing pain that was spreading throughout his body. He was going to die here-slowly and alone.

Asa straightened and scrutinized the rough marker he had pounded into the ground. He then loaded up his supplies onto his horse and took one last look at the hole. Damn, that conman had more grit than he thought possible. He mounted and turned his horse toward town. He would have to find some way to expel the excitement that still surged through him.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

****Part 9

"Any sign of him?" JD asked, jogging alongside the weary and disheartened lawmen as they rode solemnly down the street toward the stables.

"No. We're going to get something to eat and fresh horses then go back out," Chris stated, keeping his eyes straight ahead, knowing that Vin was just as disheartened as he was.

"Chaucer came home an hour ago," JD reluctantly exclaimed, keeping pace with the two lawmen.

Chris' jaw clenched. "We're going to keep looking, keep sending out telegrams."

JD stopped in his tracks as the two lawmen continued down the street. His heart pounded hard beneath his breast. His fists clenched as he took a deep calming breath. His last meal had ended up behind the jailhouse and his stomach still ached. They would find the gambler, and JD would spend the remainder of his days making it up to the aggrieved southerner. JD looked up into the darkening sky. "Please, give me the chance to make this right," he whispered, hoping that the God he had forsaken long ago was still willing to listen. The young sheriff glanced up at the second-story window of the clinic. He had admired Buck from the first time they met. The convivial gunslinger always appeared unconcerned and confident, and JD had wanted to be just like him. Now, he wasn't so sure. Something had diminished and, for some reason, JD felt like he'd just lost a friend-maybe two.

Josiah stepped out of the jailhouse and moved to intercept the two riders. "Asa Lunder is in town," the penitent preacher exclaimed.

Vin and Chris pulled up their weary horses and began to dismount.

"When?" Vin asked as he and Chris handed their reins to the ex-preacher.

"'bout an hour ago. Been in the saloon. Figured you might wanna have a little talk with 'im." Josiah wanted desperately to go and talk to Bryon Lunder's brother, but if they were to have any chance of finding Ezra he couldn't risk scaring Asa or worse killin' him.

Josiah led the weary horses back to the stables as Chris made his way towards the saloon. Vin checked his mare's leg and followed after the determined gunslinger.

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Chris slowly pushed apart the batwing doors of the saloon allowing his eyes to adjust to the lantern light. He let his gaze drift around the saloon. It was still early in the evening, but even so, over half the tables were occupied. Asa Lunder stood, bent over the bar, joking with two ranch hands. Chris stepped in, allowing the doors to flap shut only to be caught by Vin.

Silence slowly descended upon the room as Chris made his way across the floor. The sudden quiet had Asa slowly turning to face the deadly gunslinger with a knowing smiling on his weathered face. Asa had been expecting a confrontation with one of the lawmen sooner or later.

"Where is he?" Chris growled.

Lunder's smile grew as he took a swig from the beer he held, then wiped his mouth and answered, "Where's who?"

Chris had not been sure about his accusation at first until he looked into Asa Lunder's eyes. His hand lashed out and grabbed the brash man by the dirty shirt, pulling him close than slamming him against the bar. Lunder's glass slammed onto the bar, sloshing the remaining beer over the side.

"Where's Standish?"

"Oh, you mean the lowlife who killed my brother?" Asa laughed. "Hell, he didn't even have the nerve to face me." Lunder turned his head to the right and his grin fell slightly as his recent companions had edged away. Lunder returned his attention to Larabee. The expression on the blond gunslinger's face erased any trace of joviality and Lunder's insides seemed to melt. He glanced around the room, no longer seeing any support or familiarity.

Asa chuckled. "Everyone's glad he's gone. He did the town a favor." Asa made to turn around.

Chris yanked the arrogant man back around. "Where is he?"

Lunder flinched and his eyes dropped slightly as he answered. "I don't know."

"You're lying." Chris shoved Asa away from him and back into the bar.

"Prove it," Lunder spat, feeling the sweat starting to collect under his collar. "You can't do a thing, lawman."

Larabee's mouth twitched and Asa's smile grew along with his confidence. He knew if he told them that Standish was dead, he would soon follow. He just had to hold strong. As long as they didn't have a body, there wasn't a damn thing they could do. They were lawmen after all.

Larabee glared at Lunder knowing the man was lying; he could feel it. He grabbed Asa by the arm, dragged him toward the door, and threw him at JD as the young sheriff entered. "Lock him up!"

"What for?" Asa asked.

"Pissing me off," Chris replied.

JD took Lunder's guns and ushered the man out.

"You can't hold me forever, Larabee," Asa yelled out, laughing all the way to the jail.

"What we goin' to do, cowboy?" Vin asked, flanking the blond gunslinger.

Chris continued to watch as JD ushered Asa into the jail, knowing he had no real proof to hold the man. "We keep searching."

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He awoke slowly, in stages, aware of nothing but the twin facts that, one, he was lying on his side and, two he felt terrible. He didn't know how long he'd been in this miserable position as he kept going in and out of consciousness. Ezra supposed that eventually, he would stay permanently out. He tried to move and bit back a scream as he ignited a surge of agony that threatened to take him further over the edge. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to calm his breathing and remain still as tears squeezed past shut eyes. The pain slowly ebbed. He didn't bother opening his eyes. The night had capped the hole, making it feel more like a grave. It would be over soon.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

*****Part 10

It was his fault. If he hadn't been messin' round with another man's wife... Buck slammed his fist against the wooden headboard. He knew that Ezra was in trouble, he felt it. The pain of his wound was nothing compared to the hollow feeling in his gut.

"We ain't goin' to find him, are we?" Buck grimly stated. Chris glanced over at him from the window.

"Vin and I are going back out come morning, going to search the surrounding countryside again," Chris said. "JD's got replies from a couple of towns; none of them have seen him."

Buck grimaced as he took a deep breath, consciously hurting himself, hoping to appease some of his guilt. "I'm responsible."

"We all are," Chris said, turning back to the window. "We all thought the worst. We let him leave, hell, I didn't give him a choice, told him to give up his cards." Chris shook his head at the absurdity of Ezra P. Standish never touching a deck of cards.

"I'm the one who started it all. If I'd only kept it in my pants..."

Chris chortled. "It ain't in your nature." Chris stepped away from the window and grabbed his hat off the dresser. "You rest, I'll let you know if we find out anything."

Buck watched as his oldest and dearest friend left. There was a strangeness now, neither man was comfortable with the other, and Buck knew he might have destroyed his friendship with all the regulators. He had to find a way to fix things. He had to find Ezra.

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JD sat outside the jailhouse, sipping a cup of coffee that tasted bitter. He needed a break from Lunder's knowing expression. The man was positively gloating. The anger he had felt toward Buck for the past day had withered into indifference. The Lunders were the only ones deserving of his hatred. Asa Lunder knew where Ezra was, JD saw it in the man's ugly face. JD finished off his coffee trying to figure out a way to get Asa to talk, maybe if he promised the man he'd release him. The young sheriff shook his head the others would never go for that. JD's guilt was threatening to choke him and his greatest fear was that he would have to learn to live it.

M7M7M7

Buck swung his legs over the bed and stopped to catch his breath and come to grips with the fire and clenching pain in his chest. He couldn't just lie around while everyone else was trying to find Ezra. No matter what Chris said, he knew he was responsible. His games of the heart might finally have proved more deadly than Ezra's games of chance.

Buck took hold of the bedpost and hauled himself up, fighting to stay conscious. He managed to pull on a shirt and grab his gun, grateful that he still had his pants on as trying to get them on would of killed him. He stumbled out of the clinic and down the stairs, taking them one at a time and stopping every five steps gasping for air.

Buck ignored the perplexed stares of the townsfolk as he shuffled barefoot across the street. He only hoped none of the others saw him, or he might have to shoot them. No one was going to stop him.

Buck entered the jailhouse, his focus on the man in the jail cell.

"Buck, what the hell are you doing?" JD jumped up from behind his desk.

"Not now, kid." Buck shuffled across the floor. Sweat trickled down his face and glistened on the hairs sticking out of his shirt collar. He stopped in front of the cell that held Lunder.

JD remained behind his desk, hoping that Buck could somehow convince Lunder. JD clasped his hands together and bowed his head, he had to hold onto something.

"Where is he?" Buck growled. His eyes burned with fever and hate.

Lunder stretched and sat up, trying not to laugh out loud.

"Well, well, if it ain't Casanova. Hoping you'd 'ave died, but Bryon never was very good with a gun, especially when he's drunk."

"Where's Ezra?"

Lunder chuckled and looked at the gunslinger. Blood was seeping through the bandage that was wrapped around Buck's chest. "Maybe if'n you weren't messin' with another man's wife we wouldn't be here now."

Buck swallowed hard and his shoulders slumped. Lunder was right and the words stole some of his moral determination. Hell, he should be sitting in the cell alongside Lunder.

"Just tell me where he is," Buck pleaded his hand grasping one of the cell bars as his legs threatened to give out.

Lunder stepped up to the bars, his grin growing as he studied the injured lawman. He glanced over Buck's shoulder to see JD still sitting at the desk. His gaze returned to the desperate man in front of him. He'd never thought the seven gunslingers were anything special. "You'll never find him," Lunder hissed. "He's off dying right now, alone, and there's nothing you can do about it." Lunder's smile grew and he crossed his arms over his chest.

Buck raised his gun and pointed it at Lunder's head. Asa flinched slightly, but quickly composed himself and allowed his smirk to return. He knew that the cowboy wouldn't shoot him, he could see it in his eyes.

"BUCK!"

Chris' sharp voice broke the battle between the ladies' man and Lunder. Chris calmly stepped up behind Buck and gently eased the gun from his friend's shaky grip. Buck's world spun and only Chris' grip on this upper arm kept him from collapsing. "C'mon Bucklin, let's get you back to bed. Nathan's madder than a wet hen," Chris quietly spoke.

Buck turned sad eyes toward JD. "I'm so sorry, kid."

JD watched sadly as Chris helped Buck out the door. The young sheriff glanced at Lunder who sat back on his cot with his hands behind his head the same infuriating grin still pasted on his face.

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Chris helped Nathan ease Buck back into bed.

"Damnit, Buck, what are tryin' to do? Rip open them stitches and bleed to death?" Nathan berated as he checked over the wound. Chris stepped back allowing Nathan room to examine Buck, who remained despondent, staring at the far wall of the clinic. Vin remained in the shadows, watching and listening as Nathan and Chris tended to Buck.

"I killed him," Buck quietly voiced, slowly bringing sorrowful eyes into focus. "I don't think I can live with this." He couldn't believe the overwhelming grief that seemed to stretch throughout his entire body. He'd hadn't even known Ezra that long, but it was like they were long lost brothers who had found each other and then been ripped apart.

"He ain't dead, Buck. We'll find him. You just git some rest," Chris tried to assure.

Buck finally succumbed to his exhaustion and pain as Chris watched the look of defeat and loss vanish behind closed lids.

"Is he alright?" Chris asked the distraught healer.

"Yeah, he should be if he stays in bed," Nathan explained. The healer straightened and turned toward Chris and Vin. "You really think Ez's alive? It's been two days..."

"Just take care of Buck!" Chris growled. He didn't need the healer's doubt adding to his already dwindling hope.

Nathan's chin rose and his jaw clenched. He had tried to hold onto the hope that the enigmatic southerner was still alive. Nathan knew he would have to live with the knowledge that he was partially responsible for Ezra's death, if only he hadn't jumped to the wrong conclusion. It was so easy to think the worst of the conman. Nathan looked down at Buck who stirred then settled back down. Ezra's card-playing was constantly under scrutiny, while Buck's less than proper antics with women were either ignored or envied. Nathan had to admit his own prejudice against the southerner was partially to blame. He never believed an ex-slave and southerner could ever find common ground.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Part 11

His hope was fading along with his will to live. Ezra wondered if the others discovered what had happened to him would they come for him or even care? They'd thrown him out of the only place he had ever cared for. They probably believed that he headed off to St. Louis. He was always the outsider, the loose wheel, unreliable. He'd confirmed that when they first met and he had run out on them. Why had Larabee given him a second chance? Maybe he wanted to see him fail again.

He didn't feel the cold anymore. His arms were numb from lack of circulation. He would miss the six stalwart gunslingers. A tear drew a path through the dirt on his face. It was too soon he wanted more time to experience this new life he had been inadvertently thrown into-It was too soon.

He hoped that Buck fully recovered. He closed his eyes to try and stop the flow of memories and listened to the distant bay of a lone coyote.

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Chris' arms hung loosely over the hitching post as the morning sun revealed the tiredness that marred his face. He didn't know where else to look for Ezra. He knew he was just wasting time riding town to town. He was losing hope and it infuriated him. The comfort they all had felt with each other was gone, replaced with something foreign and distasteful.

Chris knew that Buck was hurting, not just from his wound but his own culpability and, if they didn't find Ezra, he was afraid of what it would do to his charismatic friend. He knew all too well what the pain of guilt could do to a man. Chris turned his head and looked over at Vin who stood on the boardwalk, his sharp blue eyes focused on the jailhouse across the street.

Vin exhaled and rubbed his face as he seemed to come to a decision smoothly reaching down and pulling a large knife from his boot. Chris straightened as a quiet calm seemed to infuse the tracker. "What'cha thinkin', Vin?"

"Thinkin' of finding Ez," Vin replied dispassionately, concealing his pounding heart. His blood boiling with the sublime thrill of being on the edge of both control and savageness. He had lived wild, with no rules or laws governing his actions for a long time and it'd only been in the last couple of years that he had tamed that feral existence, but it still resided just below the surface.

Larabee stared at the tracker, seeing the reflection of steel in Vin's suddenly cold gaze. Chris watched as the tracker's taciturn demeanor suddenly changed to one the gunslinger had only suspected but never seen. Chris didn't say a word as Vin stepped off the boardwalk and strolled purposefully across the street. He knew that Vin was about to cross a line that they had all sworn to stand behind. They were lawmen, sworn to protect the citizens of this town. They sometimes used unorthodox methods to correct a wrong, but they always remembered that they were lawmen. Chris squeezed the rough wood under his hands and pushed away from the railing, vowing to follow his friend across that line, no matter how far they had to go.

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"Hey, Vin, what's..." JD began when Vin strode through the doorway and continued across the room. JD came around the desk and stopped as Chris entered.

"Chris, what's going on?" JD asked.

"Go see Buck."

"But what's Vin...?"

"Go see Buck, now!" Chris glared down at the young easterner. JD's eyes went wide, and he looked at Vin who stood at Lunder's jail cell.

Lunder sat upon his cot and wiped his eyes as JD grabbed his hat and, knowing full well the consequences of his actions-left.

"What the hell is going on?" Asa Lunder squared his chin and stared back at the lean tracker standing outside the bars the bowie knife held at his side. There was a creepy calm on the tracker's face that began to whittle away at Asa's resolve as he licked at suddenly dry lips. He swallowed and looked over at the darkly clad gunslinger who now appeared to be the less menacing of the two. "Larabee, what's goin on. You're lawmen," Asa reminded.

"Where's Ezra?" Chris calmly asked, no anger, no fury but the tone got Asa's attention and his breathing quickening.

"I ain't tellin' ya. He got what he deserved for killin' my brother." Asa squirmed a little on his cot as Vin continued to scowl at him now holding the knife in front of him.

A knowing smile slowly crooked up the corners of Chris' mouth, giving him a more fiendish appearance that had Asa's testicles tightening up a little. Chris had given the sordid man a chance. He turned to head out the door.

Vin stepped closer to the cell, there was a certain dangerous edge to the tracker's face, his posture, his eyes, shaped by the demands of his profession and life. Asa's insides seemed to liquefy and sweat beaded upon his forehead.

"You can't leave me here with him!" Lunder had heard that Tanner had spent time with the Indians and had once hunted men for bounty. Here was a man who was just as dangerous as he was.

Chris stopped at the door, looking over his shoulder, the wicked smile still on his hard-edged face as he replied, "Oh yes I can."

Larabee stepped outside and closed the door of the jail. He pulled a chair in front of the entrance and sat down, leaning unconcerned against the door he folded his hands behind his head and smiled faintly at the first scream.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Part 12

The cries continued for several seconds, mixed with several pleas to stop. Chris casually rolled a cheroot, nodding at curious and aghast onlookers who would hurry past. He cocked his head listening to Vin demanding to know where Ezra was, and to Lunder's waning refusals. Then the screams would begin again.

Chris lifted his eyes dispassionately as Nathan and Josiah approached, sticking the cheroot into his mouth and lighting it.

"Chris, you can't let this continue," Nathan said as he approached the jail, wincing at the choking cry. JD had come up to the clinic and told him what was happening. Nathan had stayed in the clinic for as long as he could rebuff his conscience. He didn't want Vin to end up killin' the man.

Josiah moved off to the side and leaned against the supporting post. He only smiled as Nathan shifted uncomfortably at a strangled cry. Asa's screams didn't bother him, and he hoped that Vin was able to extract the whereabouts of the southerner, if not, he might have a go at the man. He had prayed continuously for hours trying to cleanse his heart and mind of the guilt he now harbored. Ezra had not deserved the treatment he had received from the others or him. Josiah only hoped he was given the chance to atone for his mistake.

"It'll stop when we find out where Ezra is," Chris simply stated, blowing a smoke ring, he was fairly confident that the ex-bounty hunter wouldn't kill Lunder, only make him wish he were dead.

Chris cocked his head and sat up at the abrupt silence. All three lawmen came to attention as the door opened and Vin stepped out wiping the blood off his blade on Asa's shirt. "I know where he is. We're going to need ropes." For a moment the others didn't recognize their friend, then slowly Vin's features softened and the sensitive tracker returned. Vin stepped off the boardwalk and headed toward the stables.

"Nathan, you have five minutes to patch 'em up. We'll get your horse ready," Chris said as he stepped off the boardwalk and made to follow the tracker.

Nathan hurried into the jail to see what he could do for the tortured man. He hoped they found Ezra alive or his efforts would probably be wasted.

M7M7M7

Nathan urged his mount faster to keep up with Chris and Vin. They had soon lost sight of Josiah and JD, coming up in a wagon. He didn't know where they were going, he only hoped they got there in time. His thoughts went back to Asa Lunder. He had been shocked when he first entered the jailhouse. Lunder had been tied spread eagle to the bars of his jail cell. His shirt had been removed and cuts decorated his chest; it looked like some kind of design was being etched into his skin. None of the wounds were life-threatening, but they got progressively deeper and Asa's torso was covered in blood. Asa's pants were down at his ankles and a blood smear shown on his inner thigh marking where the knife had rested next to the man's genitals and was probably what gave Asa the incentive to finally admit where Ezra was.

Nate had cut Asa down and quickly bound the compliant man's wounds. The tortured man remained silent throughout his ministrations. The application of alcohol to the wounds caused the now scarred man to hiss. "That son of a bitch would of killed me."

Nathan collected his supplies and locked the cell door before answering, "Probably." He smiled at Lunder's disbelief. Asa Lunder just learned that the seven may be lawmen and sworn to serve and protect, but not when one of their own was in trouble than all bets were off.

M7M7M7M7

Vin urged Peso up the rocky slope. He pulled up as the land leveled off and eyed the scarred barren landscape. Mining had stripped the life from the once vibrant desert. McCain's mine had been abandoned several years ago and mostly forgotten after the elder McCain was killed in a cave-in that became his tomb. Vin dismounted as Chris reined up beside him. "It's here somewhere," Vin said. Lunder had told him that Ezra was down an old air shaft out near McCain's mine. He couldn't tell the tracker if the gambler was alive or dead. He had told Lunder that if Ezra was dead he would return and pick up where he left off. "There!" Vin yelled.

They all saw the grave marker and their hearts sank. Ezra was dead. Vin wasn't ready to give up and sprinted across the rocky ground, dropping onto his stomach in front of the dark hole.

Chris glared at the rough marker, leaning out of the ground. He took in the dates-was Ezra really that young? For some reason, the small dash made him heartsick. That small line between birth and death was all that denoted a man's life. How could one thin line encompass a person's happiness and sorrow, triumph and strife?

"Do you see 'im?" Nathan asked as he fell on this stomach alongside the tracker. The least they could do was bring the conman home and give him a decent burial.

"No, it's too dark," Vin replied and yelled down the hole. "EZRA!"

The three lawmen listened for any sound from the dark abyss any hope that their ill-treated friend was still with them and they would have a chance to make amends. The dark hole gave up nothing.

Nathan glanced over his shoulder grateful to see Josiah and JD cresting the slope.

"Josiah, bring a lantern," Chris hollered as the preacher jumped down from the wagon.

Josiah reached around and pulled out a lantern from the back of the wagon. He handed it to Vin and stared solemnly at the hole. He couldn't bear to think that Ezra had been down there for two days. Josiah sneered at the morbid marker and suddenly lashed out with his foot, smashing the wood to bits. "Is he alive?"

Chris stared at the broken pieces of wood then replied, "Don't know."

Vin lit the lantern and tying it to his rope lowered it into the hole. Everyone held their breath and strained to see beyond the darkness as the lantern light slowly pushed back the blackness.

"Shit," Vin swore as the dim lighting gradually revealed the prone form of their gambler.

Chris squatted beside Vin and bowed his head. The flickering light gave the illusion of movement but the men above could hear no sound.

"I can't tell if he's alive," Nathan said as he took in the scene. Ezra had fallen about twenty feet. The ground appeared sandy and that might have softened his fall, but Nate noticed that Ezra's hands were tied behind his back. "Git me down there, now!"

The others were spurred into action by Nathan's urgent command. JD remained rooted in place for a moment, staring at the hole that was to be Ezra's grave. What would happen to all of them if Ezra was dead? What would happen to Buck? The grim thoughts galvanized the young easterner and he went to take care of the horses and gather supplies.

M7M7M7M7

Nathan pushed away from the wall as he was lowered into the hole. He kept his eyes on Ezra, who had yet to move. He quickly stripped off the rope when he touched the ground, then froze. He didn't want to know. Nate looked at Ezra, who lay a few feet away, and the all too familiar pain of loss engulfed him. It shocked him that he actually felt grief over the egotistical southerner a man he'd only known for a short time and who was the epitome of everything he hated.

"Brother, are you alright?" Josiah called down, seeing Nathan's hesitation.

"Yeah...Yeah." Nathan sniffed and eased himself down at Ezra's side. He reluctantly laid two fingers on the side of Ezra's neck. 'Please, please, let him be alive.' Nathan's breath quivered, and a smile broke across his face as he felt the faint flutter of a heartbeat. "He's alive," he whispered then remembered the anxious men above and shouted, "He's alive!"

Carefully, mindful of the possibility of harming him, even more, Nathan cut Ezra's bindings and eased his right arm up and over.

"Nathan." The soft Texas drawl startled the healer, having grown used to the quiet. He hadn't heard the tracker come down.

"Hold his head, Vin, as I turn him," Nathan said.

Vin squatted at Ezra's head. He brushed the dirt from Ezra's gray face and placed his hands on his cheeks. "Nathan, he's cold."

"I know." Nathan eased Ezra onto his back, hoping he wasn't causing any more damage.

A moan quivered past Ezra's lips and his face pressed into Vin's hands.

"Ezra, can you hear me?" Nathan inspected the deep gash on the side of his head and lifted up one of Ezra's eyelid. "Damn, he's got a concussion." The lantern light made the dried blood dark and ugly, appearing as a mask on the conman's face. "Looks like a bullet grazed him." He then saw the darkness on Ezra's pants. "Shit." Nathan pulled out one of his knives and delicately cut up Ezra's pant leg. He moved the light closer to examine a deep gash on the gambler's outer thigh. The bleeding had stopped, but Ezra had lost a lot of blood. "I'll have to wait till we get him back to town to clean it." Nathan quickly wrapped the wound then continued his examination, not surprised to find Ezra's left arm broken. He reached into his bag and pulled out two splints.

"Don't you worry none, Ez, Nate's going to fix you up just fine," Vin soothed.

Nathan paused and glanced at the tracker, wishing he could summon up the same belief. He undid Ezra's jacket, vest and shirt and sat on his heels, covering his mouth with his hand in concern. Vin looked down to see the purplish, red discoloration that covered the left side of Ezra's chest and stomach.

"Damn," Vin breathed. He had been trying to convince himself that Ezra was going to be fine, but looking at the deep bruising on the gambler's torso, it was getting hard to maintain that belief.

Nathan gently ran his hands down Ezra's torso. If Ezra was hurt bad inside there was nothing he could do. Nathan let go of a relieved sigh not feeling any broken ribs. "We have to get him out of here without hurting him, and I need to get him warm."

Vin stood and tilted his head up. "Chris, we need some kind of sling to hoist him up."

"Josiah's workin' on it," Chris called back.

"And send down some blankets," Vin added. There was instant activity above and he stepped forward to grab the tossed blankets.

Nathan looked up when he felt Vin's hand on his shoulder. "He's goin' to be alright, ain't he?" Vin asked, his blue eyes softening with a misty gaze.

Nathan turned away, laying a blanket across Ezra's legs. He had to wonder how this man, one now so caring and concerned for another, could have done what he did to Lunder in the jail. Men had many sides, and Ezra was no different. He had judged Ezra based on his profession and not who he truly was inside. Nate knew that Vin was a good man, but like so many others he harbored a deadliness that revealed itself when someone he cared about was threatened. Nathan hoped he always remained one of the tracker's friends. "Vin..." Nathan paused reconsidering telling Vin about the seriousness of Ezra's condition. "He's got a broken arm, concussion and he's lost quite a bit of blood, and that leg wound is infected."

Vin frowned at the healer's hesitation. "What ain't you tellin' me, Nate?"

Damn, no wonder he lost at poker. Nathan gnawed on his bottom lip for a moment and looked up at the opening gauging how far the southerner fell. "I didn't feel any broken ribs but he still might be busted up inside, he fell a long way and his hands were tied. We'll just have to wait and see. "

Vin's eyes saddened as he stared down at his friend. Ezra was almost bone-white, and his breaths were coming out in soft struggled gasps.

"Now, he ain't dead yet," Nathan quickly added, seeing the distress in his friend. "Maybe whatever is hurt inside will fix itself, given some time. I need to get back to the clinic and read up some."

"What can I do?"

"Hold him so I can splint his arm. Then we'll get him out of here."

Vin took hold of Ezra's injured arm. Nathan carefully pulled the bones until they slipped back together. He watched Ezra's face for any reaction. Vin felt Ezra's arm jerk slightly and began to stroke the brown hair under his hand. "Hang on, Ez, we need ya."

Josiah devised a simple net of ropes and together they managed to ease Ezra out of his potential grave. Chris and Josiah laid the injured gambler onto a bed of hay in the back of the wagon.

'God, Nathan he looks de..." JD bit back the words. Nathan jumped into the back of the wagon and laid a hand on Ezra's chest.

"Well, he ain't. He finally found a use for that stubborn streak of his," Nathan quipped. Chris smiled and nudged his horse alongside Vin. "Take it nice and easy, Josiah."

"God will smooth the road for us, brother," Josiah said and flicked the reins gently against the team's flanks. Nathan kept his hand on Ezra's chest to hold him against the sudden jolt.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Part 13

Pain spiked through him. His first thought was a sense of motion. What had happened? Was he dead? He had been forced to leave town. He hadn't wanted to leave. He had found a home and friends in Four Corners. He thought he heard the voices of his friends and wondered if they were real. Had they come for him?

"Ezra do you hear me." Nathan had seen a subtle wince pass across the gambler's face. Nate quickly grabbed his canteen and snaked an arm under Ezra's neck. "C'mon Ez," Nate urged.

Josiah glanced over his shoulder.

"Nath...an," Ezra gasped, opening his eyes slightly to see the dark face of the healer hovering over him. They had found him, he wouldn't die alone.

Nathan placed the canteen on Ezra's lips and smiled as he took a small swallow. He then eased Ezra's battered body back onto the hay and smoothed his brown hair away from his face pulling the blanket up to his chin.

JD sat in the corner of the wagon holding onto Nathan's bag and handing him whatever he asked for. The young gunslinger stared at Ezra's pale face. He was as responsible as the others. How could he have treated a friend like that? Would Ezra ever consider him, or the others, friends again?

M7M7M7M7

Vin and Josiah carried Ezra's limp body into the clinic, allowing Nathan to rush past and pull down the coverlet of the bed. Buck woke and rose up on his elbows as activity buzzed around him.

"Nathan, oh God, what the hell happened to him?"

"Stay put, Buck. I don't have time to tend to you or any of your foolishness," Nathan groused, grabbing a medical tome from the shelf he started flipping through the pages.

Chris moved next to Buck to keep the anxious man from leaving the bed.

"I need water, lots of hot water and bandages," Nathan rattled off. Vin and JD raced out the door. "Josiah, I need you to make up some black root tea."

Josiah nodded and left the clinic.

Nathan sat down next to Ezra, still looking at his medical book.

"What the hell are you doing, Nate?" Buck angrily asked.

"I'm trying to save his life." Nathan opened Ezra's shirt, studying the bruising on his torso and then looking at a picture in his book. "If his spleen is hurt there's nothing I can do for him. If his liver or kidneys are damaged we need to keep him still and hope they heal." Nathan closed his book and his eyes.

"Nathan."

The healer opened his eyes to Chris' firm voice. "We've always trusted you. I think even Ezra trusts you. Do what you can for him. No one will blame you and we'll all know you did your best."

Nathan pressed his lips into a firm straight line. Yes, they all would know he had done his best and so would Ezra. He would not let the southern bastard die.

Nathan applied a wet dressing of crushed roots and leaves that were good for bruises to Ezra's torso. He needed to get some medicine down him, but Ezra had remained deeply unconscious since there returned. Fever now raged through his battered body and Nathan feared that Ezra wouldn't have the strength to fight.

"Nathan?" Buck called from his bed.

"He's in bad shape, Buck," Nathan tiredly said, knowing the question. He continued to use a cool rag to try and bring down the gambler's fever. "We're just going to have to wait and pray."

Buck eased back into his pillow his eyes never leaving the ashen features of the man in the next bed. Buck never took his eyes off Nathan and the others as they worked tirelessly to save their wronged friend. Chris had explained to him where they'd found Ezra. Buck had then wished he'd pulled the trigger when he had Lunder in his sights.

Nathan had finally forced everyone to get some rest, seeing the fatigue on everyone's face.

Larabee returned the later that evening, he hadn't planned on staying away so long but exhaustion finally caught up to him and the others. He found Nathan asleep in his chair and gently shook the healer's shoulder.

Nathan wiped his eyes and peered up at the gunslinger then looked over at Ezra.

"Go get some decent sleep, I'll watch 'em," Chris said.

Nathan stood and laid a hand on Ezra's forehead. "He's still got a fever. Call me if he gets worse. I'll be back in a few hours."

Chris nodded and sat down on the chair between the two beds. He stared at the unmoving cardsharp. Ezra alternated between bouts of delirium from the fever and pain to an almost catatonic state. Chris wasn't sure which was worse.

"Nate says he's not getting any better." The darkness didn't hide the sadness in Buck's voice.

"Don't give up on him, he's made it this far."

Larabee listened to the rustle of blankets as his friend tried to get comfortable. "You think he'll forgive me."

Chris glanced over at Ezra's dark form. "Yeah he will," Chris tiredly answered. He didn't know why he was so sure, maybe he knew the gambler better than he thought. "I gave him an ultimatum."

"You did?"

"Told him to give up the cards."

"Ah, hell, Chris. I'm the one who should be given the ultimatum."

Chris quirked an eyebrow at his oldest friend. "What, tell you to stay away from women? That's as ridiculous as the one I gave Ez."

Buck chuckled. "Believe me Chris, I thought Claire was parted from her husband, honest."

"I believe ya and I don't blame you." Chris exhaled. "We're all going to have to find a way to show Ezra that he's still very much needed and wanted."

Buck smiled. Chris hadn't given up hope.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Part 14

_"Ezra Standish was a no-account cheat and coward. He failed his friends and himself. His death is a blessing to all of us..."_

_Ezra's eyes widened. He looked up from the bottom of a hole. This wasn't right. He had been rescued. He listened to the words. He couldn't make out who was speaking, but he understood the words and they cut his very soul._

_"The world will be better off with one less conman." These words were followed by the sudden appearance of Larabee's grinning visage, looking down at him. "Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust," Larabee maliciously exclaimed. Laughter erupted from above and the faces of the five other gunslingers materialized, grinning down at him as shovel fulls of dirt began to rain down._ Ezra screamed.

"Ezra! you have to calm down," Vin shouted over the conman's rants. Chris, Vin, and Nathan laid their bodies across the struggling gambler.

"Damnit, Ez you're going to hurt yourself," Chris growled.

"It's only a dream, Ez," Nathan quietly whispered into Ezra's ear. "It's only a dream."

Ezra's struggles ceased, and the three lawmen eased themselves up. Nathan grabbed a wet rag and mopped the gambler's brow allowing him a chance to get his bearings. Confused green eyes blinked and stared up at the three men.

Nathan smiled down at his friend. "Good to see you awake. Think you can drink a little something for me?"

Ezra slowly nodded his head and Nathan reached for a cup of medicine. Vin lifted the shaky conman up and Nate coaxed the tea down his throat.

"How you feelin'?" Nathan asked. It had been two days, with Ezra barely hanging onto life, and Nathan and the others fighting to keep him among them.

Ezra licked his lips. "Tired."

Nathan began to gently probe Ezra's stomach. "Any sharp pain?"

"No."

Nathan smiled and Ezra felt and heard the relief that spread through the men as his eyes slowly closed.

M7M7M7

"How did you find me?" Ezra asked as he stared at several new decks of cards piled on the table next to him. He had awoken to a room filled with people he didn't think cared.

Chris glanced over at Vin. "Asa Lunder had a change of heart and told us," he explained.

"He did?" Ezra said, not hiding his astonishment. "Mr. Lunder didn't seem the humanitarian type."

"Yeah, well, Vin had a little talk with him," Chris added, smiling at the southerner's quizzical expression.

Ezra shifted his gaze to the influential tracker. "I'm grateful for your persuasive abilities, Mr. Tanner."

"It got you back, all that matters," Vin stiffly replied.

Ezra frowned at the look in the tracker's eyes.

Chris knew that Vin was going through a hard time in dealing with what he had done to Lunder. No one talked about what had happened. The others had accepted it as a necessary evil, one that kept them whole. Chris had told the judge that Lunder had had a run-in with a mountain cat and threatened Asa with Vin's return if he didn't go along. Chris knew the judge only bought the story because of the circumstances and knew he was now in the judge's debt.

"Ezra, we all owe you an apology for how we treated you," Chris abruptly said.

"Mr. Larabee, I'm just grateful you found me." A small shudder raced up Ezra's spine at the memory of the impromptu grave.

Chris glanced at each of the other men. He knew they would all have to find a way to convince the gambler that he was still a trusted and valuable friend.

"Ez," JD nervously said as he approached the bed, unsure how he would be accepted. "I didn't mean those things I said. I'm so sorry."

"I know, Mr. Dunne, your worry for Mr. Wilmington justified your outburst," Ezra replied, trying to ease the young man's conscious.

"No, it didn't," Nathan sternly interjected, ignoring the blatant looks of astonishment from the others. He couldn't stand the gambler's complacent attitude. He had been greatly wronged. "None of us had the right to blame you, even if it was because of your cards you are not responsible for someone else's actions."

Josiah smiled at his friend, the others stood open mouth. Nathan was the last person anyone expected to come to the gambler's defense. "Now, we're apologizing, don't go trying to defend our stupidity."

Ezra stared up at the healer like the man had suddenly gone mad right before his eyes. "Mr. Jackson, I accept yours and the others apology." The tension of the past week seemed to rise up and float away.

"You're going to stay, aren't you, Ez?" JD asked.

Ezra looked over at Chris remembering his words and his face fell. "I will not give up my cards."

"No one's askin' you to," Chris firmly stated. He glanced over at Buck. "You couldn't give up your cards any more than Buck could give up women."

"Hey, I could give up women if I had a mind too," Buck retorted to the laughter of the other lawmen.

M7M7M7M7

"So Ez, I ah...jeez, I don't even know how to begin. I'm sorry about everything. I'll give up women..."

"Mr. Wilmington, please, I could never ask you of all people to give up female companionship I just ask that you be a little more discreet."

Buck chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, Chris sorta told me the same thing."

"How is Miss Claire?" Ezra asked.

"Oh, she decided to go and live with her sister in Tucson."

"So, your little affair is over?"

"Yeah, Claire decided she enjoyed her freedom as much as I do," Buck answered, actually he had urged Clair to leave. He had almost lost a friend due to his indiscretion and Claire would always remind him of that.

"Now any ideas on how to amuse ourselves during our convalescence?" Ezra asked, reaching over and grabbing one of his new decks.

The door to the clinic inched opened and JD peered in. "Great, you're both awake." JD rushed in and pulled up a chair in-between the two injured men. "I just got a new book, Outlaws of the West."

Ezra and Buck groaned and pulled their blankets up over their faces.

THE END


End file.
